Hernando de Lerma Polanco (born November 1, 1541) was a conqueror, politician, lawyer and city founder from Seville, Spain.

On November 13, 1577, Lerma was named Governor of Tucumn, (in present Argentina) by Spanish King Philip II. Described by historians as a man of violence, de Lerma had problems with several people from the area, including fellow countrymen. Among those he persecuted were the spokesman of a Catholic bishop. He also disliked Francisco Salcedo, another Catholic man who built a church in Santiago del Estero.

Many of de Lerma's opponents ended up in jail or being killed. Salcedo retired to another city and became convalescent, but he was returned to Tucumn by de Lerma's men after he found him. In Tucumn, Salcedo was tried and jailed. A large number of Salcedo's supporters were killed.

In April 1582, de Lerma founded the city of Salta, next to the Arenales River. He foresaw Salta as an economic center, since the Spanish government had opened seaports in Santiago de Chile, Callao and Buenos Aires. Salta's situation between the Viceroyalty of Peru and the port at the Ro de la Plata river, according to de Lerma, would be an advantage for the city, as it connected the city directly with the aforementioned places, and de Lerma believed that Madrid's government would re-route their shipments through Salta. He had the city named "Lerma City on Salta Valley". Hernando de Lerma befriended Indians who populated the area, believing their hands could be of help to him. He also attracted other Spaniards to the area.

After he established the city, however, de Lerma had to face many new rivals and problems. More conquerors arrived in Salta and tried to seize the city, causing multiple feuds. The city went through many periods of disease, and it had been erected in an area with frequent tremors.

In 1584, de Lerma was arrested and sentenced to jail in Salta. He appealed, and returned to Spain to take his case to the supreme court, but his appeal was rejected and he was sent to a Spanish jail. While it is known he died in jail, the year in which he died is not known.

Historian Paul Goussac said that "de Lerma's administration was nothing but a series of criminal attempts." Salta-born historian Armando Bazan describes de Lerma "as malign as a disease" in one of his books.

Conquistadors (, US also ) or conquistadores (Spanish: [koŋkistaˈðoɾes], Portuguese: [kũkiʃtɐˈdoɾis, kõkiʃtɐˈðoɾɨʃ]; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th Centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, Oceania, Africa, and Asia, colonizing and opening trade routes. They brought much of the Americas under the dominion of Spain and Portugal.

After arrival in the West Indies in 1492, the Spanish, usually led by hidalgos from the west and south of Spain, began building an American empire in the Caribbean using islands such as Hispaniola, Cuba, and Puerto Rico as bases. From 1519 to 1521, Hernán Cortés waged a campaign against the Aztec Empire, ruled by Moctezuma II. From the territories of the Aztec Empire, conquistadors expanded Spanish rule to northern Central America and parts of what is now the southern and western United States, and from Mexico sailing the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines. Other conquistadors took over the Inca Empire after crossing the Isthmus of Panama and sailing the Pacific to northern Peru. As Francisco Pizarro subdued the empire in a manner similar to Cortés other conquistadores used Peru as base for conquering much of Ecuador and Chile. Central Colombia, home of the Muisca was conquered by licentiate Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, and its northern regions were explored by Rodrigo de Bastidas, Alonso de Ojeda, Juan de la Cosa, Pedro de Heredia and others. For South Western Colombia, Bolivia, and Argentina, conquistadors from Peru combined parties with other conquistadors arriving more directly from the Caribbean and Río de la Plata-Paraguay respectively. All these conquests founded the basis for modern Hispanic America and the Hispanophone.

Spanish conquistadors also made significant explorations into the Amazon Jungle, Patagonia, the interior of North America, and the discovery and exploration of the Pacific Ocean. Conquistadors founded numerous cities, some of them on locations with pre-existing settlements, Manila and Mexico City.

Conquistadors in the service of the Portuguese Crown led numerous conquests for the Portuguese Empire, across South America and Africa, as well as commercial colonies in Asia, founding the origins of modern Portuguese-speaking world in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Notable Portuguese conquistadors include Afonso de Albuquerque who led conquests across India, the Persian Gulf, the East Indies, and East Africa, and Filipe de Brito e Nicote who led conquests into Burma and was made King of Pegu.